Blindstitch sewing-machine.



WwQzM .31 a

No. 826,094. PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

' J. E. FEPEL.

BLINDSTITOH SEWING MACHINE.- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 UNITED A STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EDWARD FEFEL, OF-MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES FELLING MACHINE CO, A CORPORATION .OF NEW ORK.

BLINDSTITCH-SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification efLetters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, JOHN EDWARD FEFEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mlddletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blindstitch Sewing-Ma'chines, of which the followlng is a specification.

This inyention relates to that class of sew-- lug-machines known in the 'art as blindstitch-machines.

.My objects are, first, to produce a machine which shall be chea of manufacture, simple of construction an "operation, of great efiiclency either at high or low speeds, and capable of formmg'a double-threadlock-stitch or a single-thread chain-stitch; second, to produce a machine which will admit of considerable range of relative adjustment of its parts to 8111i it to varying condition, and which will adjust itself automatically while in operation to varying thicknesses and other irregularitles 1n the material to be stitched third,

to produce'novel means for forming a ridge in the work to be stitched and means for adj ust-- ing the ridge-forming device whereby the I depth of penetration of the needle-may be vices, which will now be described in detail, reference being had to vation.

nicely regulated; fourth, to produce a feed which will engage the workicontinuously, move it-accurately ,and positively at 1 the proper stage of operation, and grip the goods on the wrong sidei. a, the side upon which the stitch will appear. To this end the invention consists of the novel arrangement and combination of dethe accom an n drawings, in whichp g Figure l is a front elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2- is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 1s an end ele- Fig. 4 is 'a vertical section looking toward front of machine. Fig. 5 is a detail of acam. Fig. 6 is a detail of an adjustable support.

Fig. Sis a perective of the bridge for forming a ridge in s t e work. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail. Figs.

10 and 11 are graphic representations of'the manner of forming the stitch. Fig. 12 is a detail representing modifications, and Fig. 13 is a detail of a detached part.

Referring to the drawings by letters and nuadjustabfy Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of a portion of the feeding device.

merals, 1 is a base having a laterally-extending work-plate 2 and supporting the arm 3. Aborizontal-driving-shaft 4 is mounted in the u rm and carries a pulley5 and an'eccentric 6, the atter being surrounded by a strap-7, to which is attached an upwardly-extending link 8, connnected,bymeans of a. ball-and-socket joint, with the lever 9. Lever 9 is pivoted in the arm 3 at 10 and is provided at its outer end with a downwardly extending link 71, connecting said lever with a rocking needle-carrier 11 A curved needle 12 is secured to carrier 11 by means of a screw 13 and a threaded nut 114, the needle being placed between said carrier and said nut and the screw 13 set down hard to bind the parts together.

Hinged to the work-plate 2 and extending in a direction at right angles to the arc of movement of the curved needle is a device which operates in conjunction with the presser-foot, hereinafter described, to form a ridge in the material to be stitched in order that the material may be properly engaged by the needle. This device, which will be referred to herein as the bridge or former, consists of a plate 14, hinged at 15 and havin a fiat upper surface 16 for a portion of its ength and the double beveled surface 17 for the balance of its len th, the bevthread lock-stitchfls carried on the end of a lever 21 ivoted to the standard 22, which is screwed to the worklate, (see Fig. 6,) the other end of said .lever eing provided with arounded head entering the camgroove 23 in the face of the disk 24 on the driving-shaft 1. Lever 21 is tilted at an angle of about forty-five degrees relative to.

the plane of the work-plate, and the looper points downwardly at t e same angle, the ar'i rangement being such that rotation of the shaft 4 will cause the looper to rock in an are approximately intersectin the are described by the curved needle, the looper passing above the needle at each stroke thereof forward as well as backward.

The presser-foot hereinbefore referred to consists of two separate members ada ted to adjust themselves se arately and in ependently to varying thic messes or irregularities in the work and capable of being operated by hand as a unit by means ofa cam 25. In detail the Presser-foot comprises two separate and distinct feet 26 and 27 and two separate vertical supporting-rods 28 and 29, each surrounded by a coil-spring 30, adapted to exert a downward pressure upon its respective rod.

The cam rests upon the upper surface of arm 3 and is provided with two laterally-projecting pins, which engage vertical slots. in the upper ends of the rods and serve to raise and lower both members of the presser-foot simultaneously when the cam is operated.

The feet 26 and 27 normally rest upon the upper beveled surface of the bridge or former 14, one on each side of the ridgeJine, and'are shaped to conform to said surface.

[Resting upon the flat surface 16 of the bridge or former is a feed-roller 32, having atoothed or roughened periphery and mounted on a shaft 33, carried in the lower forked ends of two vertical rods 34 and 35. Preferably a slight degree of loosenessor play for shaft 33 is rovided for in this mounting in order that t e roller may adapt itself to un even thicknesses in the work. ,A spring 36, anchored at 37 and passing under a tensionregulating device 38, has its free end bearing u on a pm 39, projecting from a block 40, said b ock being provided with forked ends embracing both rods 34 and 35. The block rests upon pins 41, extending outwardly from said rods, so that an even pressure is exerted by spring 36 upon both rods; but this arrangement does not interfere with the separate and independent movement of the rods 34 and 35 or the tilting of shaft 33 due to irregularities .in the work. A cam 25, similar to cam 25,

serves to raise and lower the rods 34 and'35 simultaneously in order to lift the feed-roller 32 from the bridgeor former when it is desired to insert or remove the work.

Shaft 33 is provided at one end thereof with a socket adafptedto receivethe rounded end or head o a"rod.46, the otherend-of which is provided with a similar head 47 A counter-shaft '49, located to the rear of shaft 4 and mounted in bearings 50 in the vertical part of arm 3, is provided with a socket 48, which receives the head 47. Pins 51 and 52, engaging in slots 53 54*, respectively, complete the connection, so that power transmit-- ted to shaft 49 will be imparted to roller 32 whatever operative position said roller may occupy. v

Shaft 4 is rovided with a second eccentric 54, surroun ed by strap 55, having an outwa'rdly-extending slotted arm 56, and shaft 49 carries a loose collar 57, also provided with an outwardly-extending slotted arm 58 and a pawl. 59, adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet-wheel 60, which is tightly mounted on said shaft. A screw 61, passing through both slots and entering a thumb-nut 65, serves to lock the two arms 56 and 58 together, so that upon rotation. of shaft 4 an intermittent stepby-step rotary -motion will be imparted to shaft 49. Obviously a longer or shorter step by-s tep motion and a resulting longer or shorter stitch may be had as required by simply shifting the position of thumb-screw 61 in the-slots? l 62 represents a springdetent engaging the teeth of ratchet. to prevent reverse movement of the shaft 49.

A needle traveling in the arc of a circle at link at the last portionof its downward stroke will contact with the curved arm and move it downwardly for a short distance, thus causing the block 68 to rock on its pivot and the guide 66 to be moved from beneath the needle and out of the way of the lower edge of the needle carrier 11. A spring 73, attachedat one end thereof to the frame of the machine a n d having its free end engaging the extended upper end of rod 67,

returns the arm and guide to normal position as soon as the link 10 begins its upward stroke.- Arm 70 serves as a take-up for the needle-thread 90. a

The needle-thread is led from its spool throughthe usual tension devices 76 (not a part of the present invention) to the eye 77.

It is then looped around the arm 70, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and passed through eye 78, from which it is led to eye 79 in a projecting finger forming a part of nut. 114, hereinbefore referred to, thence to needle 12. The looper-thread 91 is led from spool 80 to eye 81,.t hence directly to the looper, the thread passing through a hole 81 in the rear of the ooper, thence along a groove 82 .in the upper surface of the same, Figs. 7 and 8, to the v eye 83.

Fig. 9 illustrates the manner of forming the ridge in the material to be sewed, 92 representing the folded material and the dotted line 93 the path of the needle, and Figs. 10 and 11 are graphic representations of the manner of forming the stitch. Beginning 95 arrangement being such that the end of said I IIO . with the position illustrated in Fig.-10, the

needle moves to the right, pierces the material, and passes under the looper and through the loop a. The looper then backs out of the loop I) and leaves the loop 0, around the needle, as shown in Figsll. At about the end of the forward stroke of the needle the takestitch. The needle then retreats, the resistance of the work causing a loop to be thrown out, which will be caught by the looper on its forward stroke. The needle having backed clear out of the work and left its loop'around the looper,.the feed will operate and the work moved forward the length of one stitch, whereupon the above operation will be repeated.

It should be observed that the machine as above described is extremely simple in construction and convenient in arrangement. All the working parts are located above the work-plate and are of easy access for adjustment or repair. Furthermore, the flexibility of the various parts of the machine insures uniform excellence and accuracy of work.

It should also be noted that but one adjusting-screw is employed for the ridge-formdevice and the feed-roller. The feedro ler being spring-pressed against the fiat upper surface of the former will adjust itself to whatever position the latter maybe raised.

In forming a single-thread chain-stitch it is only necessary to remove the looper shown in Fig. 1 and substitute one such as shown in Fig. 12. In this case a hook :2: is formed on the looper 99, which serves to carry forward the loop taken from the needle and hold it and takes another loop from the needle and spread until the needle makes another trip and takes this spread loop from the looper, whereupon the looper makes another trip carries it forward ready to be enga ed by the needle. This is a well-known stitch, not believed that a more detailed description is necessary.

I have disclosed herein but -one-embodimerit of my invention; but I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the specific construction shown and described.

Many changes might be made in various parts of the machine without departing from .the spirit of my invention.

Having described In invention, I claim 1. Ina machine of t e character described the combination of a base, a laterally-extending horizontal work-plate carried thereby, a

curved needle supported above said work- ?plate and adapted to travel in the arc of a circle, a ridge-forming device adjustable to ward and away from the, needle, a flexiblysupported feeding-wheel or roller resting upon said ridge-forming device at the rear 0 the needle, a loo er adapted to cooperate with said needle to orm stitches and suitable mechanism for operating these several parts; the whole organization being mounted and and it is operating entirely above the work-plateand the looper being attached to a rocking member pivoted at an angle to said work-plate and adapted to carry the looper across the path of the needle, the looper passing above the needle both in its forward and backward strokes. up acts and sets 'the previously-formed 2. In a machine of thecharacter described, the combination of a ridge-forming device comprising abridgeior former having a flat surface and twosurfaces sloping downwardly from a common ridge, a presser-foot mechanis'm comprising two feet adapted to hear one against each of said sloping'surfaces, the under sides of said feet corresponding to the configuration of said surfaces, a suitable feeding wheel or roller bearing against the flat surface of said bridge or former, means for rotating said wheel or roller, and suitable stitchforming mechanism.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a ridge-forming device comprising two surfaces sloping downwardly from a common ridge, a coacting 'presserfoot mechanism comprising two distinct and separately movable members bearing one againsteach of said surfaces and corresponding in conformation thereto, vertical supporting-rods for said members, elongated slots in the said rods, springs for exerting downward ressure upon said rods independently, and a fiftingrcam located between said rods and having lateral projections engaging the said elongated slots, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a machine'of'the character described, the combination of a hinged ridge-forming device consisting of a bridge or former having a flat surface and two surfaces sloping downwardly from a common ridge, a spring normally pressing said bridge or former in one direction, an adjustable stop for the latter, a feed wheel or roller bearing against the flat surface of said bridge or former, fiexibledriving connections for said feed wheel or roller, and means for exerting yielding downward pressure upon the same, whereb an adjustment of the bridge or former wi 1 result in a corresponding adjustment of said feed wheel or roller.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a ridge-forming device, a suitable coacting presser-foot mechanism,- a curved needle located to the rear of said resser-foot mechanism, a feed-roller located. to the rear of said needle and bearing upon said ridge-forming device, flexible driving connections for said feed-roller, and means whereb said ridge-forming device and said feed-r0 ler may be adjusted simultaneously.

6. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a curved needle and suitable complementary' stitch-forming mechanism, a piv oted carrier for said needle, a link connected with said carrier and with suitable mech'am' ism for imparting arocking motion to the carrier, a pivoted needle-guide having a portion thereof'normally projecting under the needle and another portion projecting into the path of said link, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a sewing-machine having a curved needle and suitable complementary stitch- .i'orming i'nechanism, a combined take-up and needle-guide comprising a pivoted body having a portion the under side of said needle, and another portion thereol adapted to rcecive'a loop in the needle-thread, and means substantially as described for rocking said body on its pivot at the close of the l'orwaI'd-stroke oi the needle.

8. in a sewing maehi w the combination thereof lying 11'] contact with,

JOHN EDWARD FEFEL.

Witnesses:

ABE GARMAIZE, WALDO M OHAPIN. 

